W.E.B. Du Bois and Paul Robeson are both remembered as leading figures of the African American movement, and their writing and teachings continue to inspire people around the world today. In this dual biography, Philadelphia-based print and television journalist Murali Balaji chronicles and considers the 40-year friendship Du Bois and Robeson shared, and how both men moved toward the far left of American politics. Balaji examines their philosophical transformations and explains why Du Bois and Robeson became ostracized for their political views—and why so few African American leaders stood up to defend them during the height of the Cold War.

"Balaji compensates in this political biography for 'revisionist' historians who regularly omit Du Bois and Robeson's long-standing involvement with the Communist Party, distorting their impact on anti-colonial and radical political thought, eroding their legacies and diminishing their courage in the face of McCarthyism. Du Bois (1868–1963) began his career as an academic and authored 34 books, most notably Souls of Black Folk, co-founded the NAACP and was an early advocate of Pan-Africanism. Best known for his Show Boat performance of 'Ol' Man River' and his portrayal of Shakespeare's Othello, Robeson (1898–1976) gained international celebrity status (called 'America's No. 1 Negro') with starring roles on Broadway and the London stage. With both narrative chronology and close reading of their work, Balaji demonstrates how over time each became more radical, moved into the communist orbit in the 1930s, and ultimately met professional defeat in the 1950s when they refused to recant their convictions.... A sharp look into an often overlooked aspect of black history."—Publishers Weekly